Yu Darvish announced that he won’t pitch for his native Japan in the World Baseball Classic next spring, and will instead focus on preparing for his second season in the major leagues.

Baseball

Rangers righthander Yu Darvish announced Tuesday that he won’t pitch for his native Japan in the World Baseball Classic next spring, and will instead focus on preparing for his second season in the major leagues . . . The baseball players’ union concluded Melky Cabrera’s agents didn’t know about a scheme to create a phony website in a defense of his positive drug test but said they failed to properly manage the employees of the firm who tried to carry out the scheme. Brothers Sam and Seth Levinson, the heads of ACES Inc., were probed by the Major League Baseball Players Association after MLB’s investigations department discovered the attempt to concoct evidence. Cabrera, the MVP of the All-Star Game, was suspended 50 games in August after testing positive for testosterone . . . Mets outfielder Lucas Duda broke his right wrist while moving furniture last month at his apartment in Los Angeles. The team said he had surgery Monday and is expected to be ready for spring training . . . The Yankees claimed off waivers righthander David Herndon from the Blue Jays and lefty Josh Spence from the Padres.

Colleges

UConn hockey coach on medical leave

Connecticut men’s hockey coach Bruce Marshall is taking an indefinite medical leave of absence from the program. The school declined to comment on the nature of the medical issue. Assistant coach David Berard will take over the team until Marshall returns. Marshall is in his 25th season as UConn coach, leading the team into Division 1 in 1998 . . .
Ben Meisner made 39 saves, lifting AIC (3-4-1) to a 2-1 win over Quinnipiac (3-3-1) in Hamden, Conn. . . . The NCAA agreed to reinstate two Indiana freshmen basketball players after they serve nine-game suspensions and repay a portion of the impermissible benefits they received before arriving on campus. Hanner Mosquera-Perea must pay back $1,590 to a charity of his choice. Peter Jurkin will be required to repay $250 to a charity of his choice. Both players will miss the first nine games of the season, beginning Friday night against Bryant . . . The University of Massachusetts will play Elon in the Holiday Showcase men’s basketball game at the MassMutual Center in Springfield Dec. 15 at noon . . . The men’s basketball game in San Diego between No. 9 Syracuse and No. 20 San Diego State on the flight deck of the decommissioned USS Midway has been moved from Friday to Sunday because of a strong chance of rain.

Ball State upsets Toledo on late TD

Jahwan Edwards scored untouched on a 15-yard run around left end with 1:43 left to propel visiting Ball State (7-3, 4-2 Mid-American) to a 34-27 upset over No. 23 Toledo, ending the Rockets’ eight-game winning streak. Edwards’s run capped an 86-yard drive after Ball State’s beleaguered defense had stopped the Rockets (8-2, 5-1) a yard short on a David Fluellen’s run on fourth-and-2 at the Cardinals’ 15 . . . The Superdome in New Orleans will be the site of the new marquee bowl matching the SEC and Big 12. The game will still be called the Sugar Bowl . . . The UMass field hockey team earned the program’s 23d NCAA Tournament berth with a 2-1 overtime victory over Rider in Amherst.
Senior forward Nicole Cordero notched the tying goal before freshman midfielder Allie Sabia knocked home the winner in overtime of the play-in game. The Minutewomen play Syracuse in a first-round game Saturday at Penn State.

NBA

Bobcats’ Henderson out 2-4 weeks

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The Bobcats said guard Gerald Henderson could miss approximately 2-4 weeks with a sprained left foot. Henderson, Charlotte’s leading scorer last season, was injured during Saturday’s loss to the Mavericks . . . Mavericks forward Shawn Marion will miss at least three games with a sprained left knee ligament . . . Knicks guard Iman Shumpert told the New York Post he doesn’t expect to return until after the new year as he recovers from an ACL tear. The team said it hoped he’d be able to return in December . . . The NBA fined Hornets coach Monty Williams $25,000 for critical comments of the NBA’s concussion policy. Williams was unhappy because rookie Anthony Davis was held out per league policy after suffering a head injury. Lakers guard Steve Blake also was fined $25,000 for directing inappropriate language toward a fan during the team’s loss to the Clippers last Friday.

Miscellany

Federer an easy winner in ATP opener

Roger Federer opened his quest for a seventh season-ending tour title, looking like the man to beat again. The 17-time Grand Slam champion won his record 40th match at the ATP Championships, defeating Janko Tipsarevic, 6-3, 6-1, in his opening Group B match in London . . . Manchester City rallied to earn a 2-2 draw with visiting Ajax to avoid elimination from the Champions League. Man City still must beat Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in the remaining matches to have any chance of advancing out of the group stage . . . Police in Sao Paulo said the younger sister of Brazil striker Hulk has returned home unhurt a day after going missing. Angelica Aparecida Vieira, 22, had been missing since Monday but police weren’t sure whether it was a kidnapping case . . . Kelli Stack had a goal and an assist, leading the US women’s hockey team to a 4-0 win over Sweden in the opening game of the Four Nations Cup in Vantaa, Finland . . . Soslan Tigiev, an Olympic wrestler from Uzbekistan, was stripped of his bronze medal from the London Games because of a positive doping test. Hungary’s Gabor Hatos will be upgraded to bronze.